From the Magazine

Get Ready to See a Lot More of Pacific Rim Uprising’s Cailee Spaeny

One of nine siblings, Spaeny had never traveled outside of the country until she landed her role opposite John Boyega in the upcoming monsters-versus-robots sequel. This figures to be her breakout year.

CRESCENDO: “The first time I performed onstage was at church.
Then I formed a rock cover band—Pink Floyd and Joan Jett. We’d play at
birthday parties since it wasn’t exactly church material.”

SLOW BURN: “There was a big sacrifice from the whole family for me,” admits
Spaeny, one of nine siblings. “It feels like I came out of
nowhere—but for the last four years Mom and I would get into the
minivan for 25 hours, back and forth to L.A., for auditions.”

UNION DUES: The miles paid off. In March, Spaeny appears in her first
professional role, as Amara, the lead in blockbuster-franchise sequel
Pacific Rim Uprising. “I didn’t know what a call sheet meant, I’d never
been out of the country before, but there I was on a ginormous set in
Australia with John Boyega and thinking, What is going on? He took me
under his wing and broke my fear of being the new kid.”

ON A ROLL: Spaeny shows no sign of slowing down, with biopics on Dick Cheney
(Backseat) and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (On the Basis of Sex), out this year,
as well as California caper Bad Times at the El Royale.

GIRL NEXT DOOR: “I still hear from people back home to make sure I’m keeping a piece of
Missouri with me. I know all this could go away any second, but my life
has changed forever.”

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